At this time, in the ABC live broadcast booth, the two commentators were stunned for a moment before reacting.
"What I said is correct. If you didn't give a flagrant foul just now, there will be big problems sooner or later. This referee has put himself on the fire, and President Stern is sitting on the sidelines."
After Bill Walton finished speaking, he shook his head and added: "Just now, Rainman hooked Old K's neck and pulled him down from behind, without any protective action, but Rainman himself is absolutely safe and is not in any danger.
But this time, Lao K even ignored his own safety and wanted to get Rain Man down. He is ten times crazier and more ruthless than Rain Man."
John Hanks shook his head and sighed: "Old K is indeed too cruel, not only to his opponents, but also to himself! Rainman, why did you provoke Old K?"
Bill Walton asked at this time: "So John, do you think the referee was right to punish Old K for a second-level flagrant foul?"
"Of course not."
John Hanks said: "Judging from the process just now, the two of them collided while gliding forward in the air. Neither of them took off vertically, and neither should have a cylindrical defensive position. Of course, there is no similar one in the league.
Rules, only the concept of position.
However, they had no place at that time because they were all in transition.
So this time it was either an offensive foul, a defensive foul, or no foul, and it was a normal aerial confrontation.
The second-level flagrant foul should have been dealt with by Yu Ren. This time, Old K couldn’t reach it. This was a serious misjudgment.”
Bill Walton nodded, agreeing with his partner.
On the field, Yuren had regained consciousness, but his brain was still dizzy and he could not sit up. He was immediately sent to the hospital for examination.
For the Suns, Wang Tiejun left the game and was replaced by Oliver Miller.
"Brothers, kill them," he yelled at his teammates before leaving the field.
"Kill them!"
All the fans responded loudly, and the momentum of the Suns at home reached its peak.
As a result, without Rain Man's destructive power in the penalty area, the Suns finally won the game, 85:110, a 25-point victory.
Wang Tiejun only played half a quarter, making 4 of 4 shots, all dunks at the basket, and 0 of 2 free throws. He scored 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 foul.
One hour after the game, the press conference began.
On the SuperSonics side, without waiting for reporters to ask questions, Crazy Karl roared at the numerous media: "This is an atrocity, a revenge, we will appeal to the league, and request an additional suspension for Old K. This matter will not come to pass."
Until now, someone has to pay the price."
"Coach Karl, do you think it was an act of murder when Rain Man grabbed Old K's neck and pulled him down from behind without taking any protective measures?" a reporter from Phoenix Sports News asked loudly below.
Crazy Carl's face twitched, what nonsense, this is the NBA, what kind of murder are you talking about, are you crazy? It was just a normal foul, and the referee's penalty was the most fair.
"snort!"
With a cold snort, he closed his mouth and did not answer the question, because he knew that the reporter did not need his answer at all and was just trying to taunt him.
For the Suns, the head coach and Colangelo did not arrange for him to attend the press conference.
At the press conference, Westphal angrily told the media that he would definitely appeal to the league for Rain Man's behavior of pulling Old K from behind without any protection, and would also punish Old K for a second-level flagrant foul.
Appeal.
The next day, early on the morning of the 25th, the league headquarters received electronic complaint letters from the Suns and SuperSonics.
At this time, David Stern was still in Phoenix. At 9:30, after going to work at the headquarters, he held a conference call with several heads of referee committees to discuss how to handle this incident.
Before the discussion, he first said: "Sean Kemp's actions were worthy of a second-level flagrant foul, but he was let off lightly."
In the conference room at the alliance headquarters, several people in charge looked at each other and immediately understood Stern's basic attitude.
"Rain Man's actions are indeed too dangerous. He should have done some protection in the end. After all, he attacked from behind."
"Old K was in a head-on collision, and the level of danger was not as high as Rainman's. And from a rule analysis, at most one defensive foul was committed, and conversely, it would make sense to punish Rainman with an offensive foul."
"I suggest adding a second-level flagrant foul to Rainman and suspending him for one game. At the same time, the second-level flagrant foul against Old K will be revoked."
What they said to you and me revealed their attitude.
At this time, Stern said again: "The Suns are already stronger than the Sonics in terms of strength and lineup. If the SuperSonics' main player is suspended, it will make the strengths of both sides more unbalanced, which will not be conducive to the ratings of the series. As a management
layer, what we have to achieve is balance.”
The people in charge there looked at each other, but they immediately agreed.
Stern added: "But that referee, what is his name? There are problems with his penalties, especially the penalty that sent Old K off, which is quite amateurish. So what we need to do now is that he needs to be punished personally.
Investigation, and at the same time the referee committee must give me an explanation."
When several people in charge heard this, they understood what Stern wanted to do.
At 10 a.m., the official results were announced.
First, Rainman added a second-level flagrant foul and was fined $20,000.
Second, cancel Wang Tiejun’s second-level flagrant foul.
Third, Tom Lewis, the referee of last night’s game, has been suspended indefinitely from officiating.
The Suns were satisfied with these three decisions, and the SuperSonics didn't say much. After all, Rain Man was not suspended, which was pretty good.
As for the referee Tom Lewis, some media revealed that it may have involved gambling, but there is no evidence. The league will not blow up the scandal. It is estimated that it will be settled in the end. However, it is estimated that it will be difficult for Tom Lewis to resume officiating NBA games.
Subsequently, the SuperSonics announced Rainman's injury to the media at a local hospital in Phoenix. He had a mild concussion and Rainman needed to take a truce.
"Lewis, do you think Rain Man will really call a truce?" Paul Westphal asked after learning the news.
"Maybe it was a smoke bomb to paralyze us," assistant coach Lewis said.
Paul Westphal nodded thoughtfully and said, "Rainman is very strong. Although the fall was heavy, it only hit his head, so it should be fine."
This evening, the G2 game of the Eastern Conference Finals begins.
As a result, the Bulls, who had the highest claim to win the championship, lost again, 91:96, losing two games in a row at Madison Square Garden, falling behind the Knicks 0-2.
Jordan was frantically double-teamed and once again played an inefficient game. He made 12 of 32 shots and a shooting percentage of only 37.5%. He only made 1 of 7 three-pointers and a poor shooting percentage of 14.3%. In addition, he made 11 of 13 free throws.
In the game, he scored 36 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls.
Pippen also only scored 17 points. Only two of the five starters scored in double figures. The Cobras, one of the Iron Triangle, only scored a pitiful two points.
The team shot only 41% from the field, made 4 of 12 three-pointers, and shot only 33.3% from the field.
For the Knicks, Ewing made 11 of 25 shots, with a mediocre shooting percentage of only 44%. In addition, he made 4 of 4 free throws and scored 26 points and 10 rebounds.
All five starters of the team scored in double figures, and the team's shooting percentage reached 50.8%. They made 4 of 7 three-pointers and the shooting percentage was as high as 57%.
In terms of rebounds, at 34:45, the Knicks once again had the upper hand. It can be said that the Knicks, like the G1 game, won on rebounds. They won a total of 31 rebounds in the two Eastern Conference finals.
After the game, Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was watching the game at Madison Square Garden, was interviewed by the TV station at the scene. He said: "The Bulls should improve their inside line. It is obvious that their inside line has aged and cannot keep up with the league at all.
situation.
This time in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls have encountered the biggest difficulty. They are trailing 0-2. If they cannot win the next two home games, once the Knicks get the Eastern Conference Finals point, things will be in trouble.
Elimination is very possible."
"Karim, what specifically do you mean by the current alliance situation?" the reporter asked.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "In the East, Ewing Oakley's inside combination has already put considerable pressure on the Bulls' inside line. They have controlled the rebounds and suppressed the Bulls' basket offense. There are also inside combinations like this in the West.
.
Yes, I'm talking about the Suns.
Mosaic and the Spurs are both good. They have a super center, but they lack effective helpers at the fourth position. This is the key reason why they cannot advance to the Western Conference Finals.
As for the Suns, Barkley and Old K's inside combination is one of the best in the league on the offensive end. Barkley can play inside and outside, and Old K's low post play and his ability to sweep the basket are the best in the league. Who among the Bulls' inside players can do that?
withstand?
I won't talk about this playoffs. Even if the Bulls are lucky and win three consecutive championships, if the Bulls don't improve their inside line next season when Old K becomes more mature, there is no doubt that the one who gets the inside line will win the world.
The Bulls dynasty will be ended before it is established."
Jordan was sitting in the locker room, his face gloomy to the extreme. He turned his head and stared at the TV on the wall. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's words came to his ears word for word.
"Michael, I'm sorry."
The main center Cartwright, who was sitting opposite him, lowered his head and said.
His performance in this Eastern Conference Finals was very poor. In 29 minutes of game G1, he made 0 of 3 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. He only scored 4 points and 5 rebounds. In 23 minutes of game G2, he made 1 of 2 shots and 4 of 8 free throws.
He only scored 6 points and 3 rebounds, which was completely unable to support the Bulls' inside line.
His partner Grant's performance was no better than his, with 11 points and 7 rebounds in Game 1, which was barely passable, but he only scored 2 points, 2 rebounds and 0 assists in Game 2, which was worse than him.
Jordan said nothing, covered his face with a towel, leaned against the closet and fell into silence.
The air in the locker room seemed to be frozen together. No one dared to speak, any movement was cautious, and no one dared to make any sound.
"The bull is in trouble this time, alas!"
At Wang Tiejun's house, Zhang Lili sighed.
"Can't we get it back?" Lao Wang asked.
"There is definitely a chance to come back. Back at home, the Bulls have a chance to win two consecutive games. At that time, the pressure will be on the Knicks. Comparing the psychological qualities of both sides, Jordan will definitely come out on top. The result will be hard to say.
" Zhang Lili analyzed.
"So the key is the next two Bulls home games?"
Gufa
"Well, yes."
"They are all doing useless work. No matter which one of these two teams reaches the finals, they will fall at our feet. They are just fighting for the chance to be the second best. What's the point? The second best is also a loser.
.”
Comrade Lao Wang said disdainfully.
"..."
Zhang Lili opened his mouth wide, Tie Jun, Comrade Xiao Wang, when did you become so crazy?
The mentality of the two is completely different.
In the past few years in Chicago, Zhang Lili has become accustomed to the strength of the NBA, and even more so to the strength of the Bulls and Jordan. When he looks at the NBA and Jordan, he looks up.
But Wang Tiejun is different. He didn't know much about the NBA before. Even after entering the NBA, the Suns had the best record in the league, with one win and one loss against the Bulls. His own performance was not too bad. In terms of playing alone, no one in the league
How can you really suppress his low-post offense and make him fear the NBA and the Bulls?
Even Jordan scored 50 points on the Suns once and 49 points on another, but with a record of one win and one loss, he did not feel invincible against Jordan.
What's more, now that the Bulls have lost two games in a row, Jordan has scored a lot of points, but his efficiency is average, and he doesn't think Jordan is invincible. In his eyes, Jordan is only slightly better than Barkley, not invincible.
On the 26th, the Suns did not train in the morning, rested at home, and had adaptive training in the afternoon.
He didn't go to bed too late last night. Wang Tiejun got up at 8:30, had breakfast with Zhang Lili, started to read the newspaper, and prepared to digest food before doing speed and flexibility training.
"The media is accusing Jordan more and more now." Zhang Lili flipped through several newspapers but didn't want to read any more.
"It means he is hot!"
Lao Wang said: "Otherwise, when have you seen the media scolding me like this? When the media scolds me like this, I will really become popular."
Zhang Lili was startled, then laughed and scolded: "You kid, are you thinking about the media all day long to scold you?"
"Ha ha……"
Lao Wang laughed.
Zhang Lili sighed: "If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight. This is true."
"What do you mean?" Lao Wang asked.
"Literally, if you want to wear the crown, you have to bear its weight. Just like Jordan now, he is the signature of the league and receives the most attention, but his every move is also amplified by the media, so he is criticized.
The most pressure is also the greatest. If the will is weak, the spirit may collapse." Zhang Lili explained.
That night, the G2 game of the Western Conference Finals began.
At 7:30, the starting lineups of the two teams were announced.
SuperSonics: Shawn Kemp, Sam Perkins, Derek McKay, Ricky Pierce, Payton
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Barkley, Ceballos, Dan Maley, Kevin Johnson
"I just said it, the SuperSonics were just setting off a smoke bomb, Rainman's injury is not serious at all." Assistant coach Lewis said in the home team's locker room.
"It doesn't matter if he gets there or not, we're going to kill SuperSonic anyway." Wang Tiejun said unhappily.
"Old K, you have to be careful about that bastard Rain Man, he has no brain at all, and it is possible for him to do evil things to you on impulse." Buckley warned.
"I know." He nodded.
My lower body's ability to resist injuries is average, so I really need to pay attention to it to avoid injury.
Ten minutes later, the starting lineups of the two teams met in the tunnel.
When enemies meet, they are particularly dazzled.
Yuren stared at Wang Tiejun with blood in his eyes.
He fell almost to death the day before yesterday, and his bones are still hurting now. It's all the fault of that bastard, Old K. Today he wants to get it back.
"What the hell, what are you looking at? I haven't settled the debt with you for dragging me down last time." Wang Tiejun strode forward and forced himself towards Rainman.
Yuren's face trembled and he took half a step back.
When it comes to fighting, he is self-aware. The difference in tonnage is too great, and he may not be able to defeat Old K, who is famous for his violence in the league.
"Old K, don't be impulsive!"
The security guards on the side rushed forward.
But their actions were a little late. Wang Tiejun had already rushed in front of Yu Ren. The latter turned around and ran away, but hit the wall behind him. He went up and put his hand on Yu Ren's throat and pressed him against the wall, shaking his fist.
Just hit.
"ah!"
With just one punch, Rain Man screamed.
Before he could punch him a second time, security rushed up and pulled him away.
Rain Man was punched in the mouth, his mouth was full of blood, he spit out a mouthful of blood, and several teeth fell to the ground.
"Bang!"
Wang Tiejun struggled to free himself after being pulled away, so he kicked him over and then kicked Yuren against the wall.
Rain Man was scared and wanted to run away. He was afraid that he would be beaten to death by this madman, Old K.
None of the other four members of the Sonics dared to come up to stop Wang Tiejun. They didn't even try to dissuade him. They just stayed aside, at a loss.
"Get out quickly! Get out quickly!"
At this time, the away team came on the stage, and the host outside was shouting. No need for security to rush, five SuperSonics players rushed out in a swarm, including Yuren.
"Don't run!"
Wang Tiejun's roar sounded from behind, which only made them rush out faster.
"What's going on?"
SuperSonics head coach George Karl was shocked when he saw several starters running out together, seemingly panicked, while Rain Man's mouth was full of blood.
"That bastard K. beat him up," Payton said angrily.
"Is he crazy?" George Karl demanded.
"He's a lunatic!" Rain Man screamed uncontrollably, but his voice was a little lost, and several of his front teeth were knocked out.
"snort!"
At this time, the head coach of the Suns, Westphal, came over. Seeing Rainman's embarrassed look, he said coldly: "You dare to be the black hand behind Old K and want to destroy him. You are so brave!"
"you?"
George Karl said sadly and indignantly: "I beat you even if you beat me. Is this settled?"
"hey-hey!"
Westphal sneered twice and did not respond. Instead, he took a step forward and high-fived Wang Tiejun and others who appeared.
"These violent people!"
George Karl was shaking with anger. He said to Rainman dissatisfied: "Kemp, you are crazy too. You just pulled him down from behind. There is no protection for him. Are you still a professional player? You are playing basketball.
It’s not murder.”
"I?"
Yuren feels extremely wronged. Why did he come at me? I am the victim.
"Team doctor, take care of him." George Karl called back.
The three referees gathered together at this time, and it was obvious that their eyes were glancing at Rain Man from time to time.
"Guys, the whistle must be stricter. They have already had a fight off the court. They cannot be allowed to spread to the court. It is absolutely not allowed."
Today's referee has a bald head and looks very stern. He said to his two companions.
"ok."
The two referees nodded and did not object.
In the ABC live broadcast booth, Bill Walton stared at the screen in front of him and said with a smile: "John, you saw it, Rain Man's mouth was broken. The team doctor should have put a hemostatic cotton in it. It must not have been caused by his fall."
"He should have been wearing braces off the court," John Hanks said.